F 

82.6 


THE.  MORMON  REBELLION  AND  THE  BILL  TO  RAISE 

VOLUNTEERS. 


CQ 
o 

UJ 


SPEECH 

$3    *  OF 

HON,  SAMUEL  R,  CURTIS,  OF  IOWA. 


Delivered  in  the  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives,  March  1O,  1858. 


Mr.  Speaker,  I  owe  it  to  myself  and  to 
the  House,  before  going  into  the  advocacy 
of  this  bill,  to  show,  as  I  hope  to  do,  that 
there  is  occasion  for  calling  out  additional 
military  force,  as  contemplated  by  the  re- 
port of  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Military  Affairs,  of  which  lam  a  member. 
So  far  from  desiring,  however,  to  increase 
the  permanent  force  of  the  country,  I  am 
ready  to  meet  that  question,  whenever  it 
comes  up,  with  an  argument  in  favor  of 
pruning  and  radically  changing  some  of 
its  organic  laws.  I  believe  that  there  is 
no  occasion  for  an  increase  of  the  regular 
or  irregular  army  of  the  United  States, 
unless  there  be,  as  I  think  there  is,  actual 
rebellion  and  war  in  the  country,  calling 
for  some  adequate  force  to  meet  and  re- 
pel it. 

In  considering  the  bill  before  us,  I  shall, 
in  the  first  place,  undertake  to  show  that 
the  Mormon  rebellion  is  a  serious,  impo- 
sing, and  terrible  offence  against  the  consti- 
tutional rights  and  laws  of  the  Govern- 
ment, demanding  from  the  power  of  Con- 
gress signal  and  severe  redress.  I  base 
my  argument,  and  expect  to  sustain  it,  on 
the  ground  of  Mormon  resistance,  Mor- 
mon rebellion,  and  Mormon  war  against 
the  United  States.  On  that  basis,  and  on 
that  alone,  I  advocate  the  passage  of  the 
bill  now  before  the  House. 

In  the  second  place,  I  shall  undertake 
to  show  what  kind  and  what  amount  of 
force  is  necessary  for  the  occasion. 

What  is  the  condition  of  this  Mormon 
rebellion?  I  think  the  House  should,  in 
justice  to  itself,  in  justice  to  the  country, 
in  justice  to  the  moral  sense  of  the  world; 
present  the  evidence  against  the  Mormons, 


for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  they  are 
now  in  hostility  against  this  Government, 
and  that,  therefore,  there  is  a  necessity  for 
sending  troops  against  them. 

If  gentlemen  will  look  over  the  history 
of  affairs  in  Utah  for  the  past  six  months, 
they  will  verify  this  impeachment.  About 
the  1st  of  August  last,  one  of  our  agents, 
Captain  Van°Vliet,  of  the  United  States 
army,  was  sent  to  Utah  for  the  purpose 
of  buying  stores  for  the  detachment  of 
our  army  going  in  that  direciion.  What 
was  the  reply  that  he  received  from  the 
Mormons  ?  He  was  told,  in  substance,  by 
Brigham  Young,  the  acting  Governor, 
that  they  should  not  come  into  the  valley ; 
that  no  officer  should  take  his  position  ; 
that  his  power  was  supreme,  and  that  he 
put  this  Government  at  defiance.  Captain 
Van  Vliet,  in  the  most  courteous  and  kind 
terms,  told  him  that  it  was  riot  the  design 
of  the  army  of  the  United  States  to  make 
war  against  Utah  or  his  people;  but  that 
they  came,  on  the  contrary,  to  establish 
law  and  the  constitutional  rights  of  the 
Government.  On  that  ground  he  placed 
the  advance  of  the  army  towards  Utah. 
But  he  was  replied  to  in  terms  not  to  be 
misunderstood. 

Although  these  communications  are 
lengthy,  as  they  show  the  commencement 
of  this  imbroglio,  I  deem  it  important  that 
they  should  appear  in  full  I  will  first 
submit  the  Report  of  Captain  Van  Vliet, 
of  his  interview  with  the  Mormons,  about 
the  1st  of  August: 

HAM'S  FORK,  September  16,  1857. 

CAPTAIN:  I  have  the  honor  to  report,  for  the 
infoimation  of  the  Commanding  General,  the 
result  of  ray  trip  to  the  Territory  of  Utah. 


In  obedience  to  special  instructions,  dated 
Headquarters  Army  for  Utah,  Fort  Leavenworth, 
July  28,  1857,  I  left  Fort  Leavenworth  July  30, 
and  reached  Port  Kearney  in  nine  travelling  days, 
Fort  Laramie  in  ten,  and  Great  Salt  Lake  City  in 
thirty-three  and  a  half.  At  Fort  Kearney  I  was 
detained  one  day  by  the  changes  I  had  to  make, 
and  by  sickness,  and  at  Fort  Laramie  three  days, 
as  all  the  animals  were  forty  miles  from  the 
post,  and  when  brought  in  all  had  to  be  shod 
before  they  could  take  the  road. 

I  travelled  as  rapidly  as  it  is  possible  to  do 
with  six  mule  wagons  ;  several  of  my  teams 
broke  down,  and  at  least  half  of  my  animals  are 
unserviceable,  and  will  remain  so  until  they  re- 
cruit. During  my  progress  towards  Utah  I  met 
many  people  from  that  Territory,  and  also  sever- 
al mountain  men,  at  Green  river,  and  all  informed 
me  that  I  would  not  be  allowed  to  enter  Utah, 
and  if  I  did  I  would  run  a  great  risk  of  losing 
my  life;  I  treated  all  this,  however,  as  idle  talk, 
but  it  induced  me  to  leave  my  wagons  and  escort 
at  Ham's  Fork,  one  hundred  and  forty-three 
miles  this  side  of  the  city,  and  proceed  alone. 

I  reached  Great  Salt  Lake  City  without  mo- 
lestation, and  immediately  upon  my  arrival  I 
informed  Governor  Brigham  Young  that  I  desired 
an  interview,  which  he  appointed  for  the  next 
day.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  my  arrival, 
Gsvernor  Young,  with  many  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  city,  called  upon  me  at  my  quarters.  The 
Governor  received  me  most  cordially,  and  treated 
me  during  my  stay,  which  continued  some  six 
days,  with  the  greatest  hospitality  and  kindness. 
In  this  interview  the  Governor  made  known  to 
me,  his  views  with  regard  to  the  approach  of  the 
United  States  troops,  in  plain  and  unmistakable 
language. 

He  stated  that  the  Mormons  had  been  perse- 
;•  cuted,  murdered,  and  robbed,  in  Missouri  and 
Illinois,  both  by  the  mob  and  State  authorities, 
and  that  now  the  United  States  were  about  to 
pursue  the  same  course;  and  that,  therefore,  he 
and  the  people  of  Utah  had  determined  to  resist 
all  persecution  at  the  commencement,  and  that 
the  troops  now  on  the  march  for  Utah  should  not 
enter  the  Great  Salt  Lake  valley;  as  he  uttered 
these  words,  all  there  present  concurred  most 
heartily  in  what  he  said. 

The  next  day,  as  agreed  upon,  I  called  upon 
the  Governor,  and  delivered  in  person  the  letters 
with  which  I  had  been  intrusted. 

In  that  interview,  and  in  several  subsequent 
ones,  the  same  determination  to  resist  to  the 
death  the  entrance  of  the  troops  iuto  the  valley 
was  expressed  by  Governor  Young  and  those 
about  him.  The  Governor  informed  me  that 
there  was  abundance  of  everything  I  required  for 
the  troops,  such  as  lumber,  foragje,  &c.,  but  that 
none  would  be  sold  to  us. 

In  the  course  of  my  conversations  with  the 
Governor  and  the  influential  men  in  the  Territory, 
I  told  them  plainly  and  frankly  what  I  conceived 
would  be  the  result  of  their  present  course  ;  I 
told  them  that  they  might  prevent  the  small 
military  force  now  approaching  Utah  from  get- 
ting through  the  narrow  defiles  and  rugged 
passes  of  the  mountains  this  year,  but  that  next 
season  the  United  States  Government  would  send 
troops  sufficient  to  overcome  all  opposition.  The 


answer  to  this  was  invariably  the  same.  "We 
are  aware  that  such  will  be  the  case  ;  but  when 
these  troops  arrive,  they  will  find  Utah  a  desert; 
every  house  will  be  burned  to  the  ground,  every 
tree  cut  down,  and  every  field  laid  waste.  We 
haw  three  years'  provisions  on  hand,  which  we 
will  '  cache,'  and  then  take  to  the  mountains  and 
bid  defiance  to  all  the  powers  of  the  Govern- 
ment." 

I  attended  their  services  on  Sunday,  and,  in 
the  course  of  a  sermon  delivered  by  Elder  Taylor, 
he  referred  to  the  approach  of  the  troops,  and 
declared  they  should  not  enter  the  Territory. 
He  then  referred  to  the  probability  of  an  over- 
whelming force  being  sent  against  them,  and 
desired  all  present  who  would  apply  the  torch 
to  their  own  buildings,  cut  down  their  trees,  and 
lay  waste  their  fields,  to  hold  up  their  hands; 
every  hand,  in  an  audience  numbering  over  four 
thousand  persons,  was  raised  at  the  same  moment. 
During  my  stay  in  the  city  I  visited  several  fam- 
ilies, and  all  with  whom  I  was  thrown  looked 
upon  the  present  movement  of  the  troops  towards 
their  Territory  as  the  commencement  of  another 
religious  persecution,  and  expressed  a  fixed  deter- 
mination to  sustain  Governor  Young  in  anj 
measures  he  might  adopt. 

From  all  these  facts  I  am  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Governor  Young  and  the  people  of 
Utah  will  prevent,  if  possible,  the  army  for  Utah 
from  entering  their  Territory  this  season.  This, 
in  my  opinion,  will  not  be  a  difficult  task,  owing 
to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  the  smallness  of  our 
force,  and  the  defences  that  nature  has  thrown 
around  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 

There  is  but  one  road  running  into  the  valley 
on  the  side  which  our  troops  are  approaching, 
and  for  over  fifty  miles  it  passes  through  narrow 
canons  and  over  rugged  mountains,  which  a 
small  force  could  hold  against  great  odds.  I  am 
inclined,  however,  to  believe  that  the  Mormons 
wi  1  not  resort  to  actual  hostilities  until  the  last 
moment.  Their  plan  of  operation  will  be,  burn 
the  grass,  cut  up  the  roads,  and  stampede  the 
animals,  so  as  to  delay  the  troops  until  snow 
commences  to  fall,  which  will  render  the  road 
impassable.  Snow  falls  early  in  this  region;  in 
fact,  last  night  it  commenced  falling  at  Fort 
IMdger,  and  this  morning  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains are  clothed  in  white.  Were  it  one  month 
earlier  in  the  season,  I  believe  the  troops  could 
force  their  way  in,  and  they  may  be  able  to  do 
so  even  now ;  but  the  attempt  will  be  fraught 
with  considerable  danger,  arising  from  the  filling 
up  of  the  canons  and  passes  with  snow. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  considered  that  I  am  ad- 
vocating either  the  one  course  or  the  other;  I 
simply  wish  to  lay  the  facts  before  the  General, 
leaving  it  to  his  better  judgment  to  decide  upon 
the  proper  movements. 

Notwithstanding  my  inability  to  make  the  pur- 
chases I  was  ordered  to,  and  all  that  Governor 
Young  said  in  regard  to  opposing  the  entrance 
of  the  troops  into  the  valley,  I  examined  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city,  with  the 
view  of  selecting  a  proper  military  site.  I  visited 
the  military  reserve,  Rush  Valley;  but  found  it, 
in  my  opinion,  entirely  unsuited  for  a  military 
station.  It  contained  but  littte  grass,  and  is 
very  much  exposed  to  the  cold  winds  of  winters 


its  only  advantage  being  the  close  proximity  to 
fire-wood.  It  is  too  far  from  the  city,  being  be- 
tween forty  and  forty-five  miles  ;  and  will  require 
teams  four  days  to  go  there  and  return.  1  ex- 
amined another  point  on  the  road  to  Rush  Valley, 
and  only  about  thirty  miles  from  the  city,  which 
I  consider  a  much  more  eligible  position.  It  is 
in  Tuella  Valley,  three  miles  to  the  north  of 
Tuella  city,  and  possesses  wood,  water,  and  grass ; 
but  it  is  occupied  by  Mormons,  who  have  some 
sixty  acres  under  cultivation,  with  houses  and 
barns  on  their  land.  These  persons  would  have 
to  be  dispossessed  or  bought  out.  In  fact  there 
is  no  place  within  forty,  fifty,  or  sixty  miles  of 
the  city,  suitable  for  a  military  position,  that  is 
not  occupied  by  the  inhabitants,  and  under  culti- 
vation. Finding  that  I  could  neither  make  the 
purchases  ordered  to,  nor  shake  the  determina- 
tion of  the  people  to  resist  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  I  left  the  city  and  returned  to  my 
camp  on  Ham's  Fork.  On  my  return,  I  examined 
the  vicinity  of  Fort  Bridger,  and  found  it  a  very 
suitable  position  for  wintering  the  troops  and 
grazing  the  animals,  should  it  be  necessary  to 
stop  at  that  point.  The  Mormonsfoccupy  the 
fort  at  present,  and  also  have  a  settlement  about 
ten  miles  further  up  Black's  fork,  called  Fort 
Supply.  These  two  places  contain  buildings  suf- 
ficient to  cover  nearly  half  the  troops  now  en  route 
for  Utah ;  but  I  was  informed  that  they  would  all 
be  laid  in  ashes  as  the  army  advanced. 

I  have  thus  stated  fully  the  result  of  my  visit 
to  Utah  ;  and  trusting  that  my  conduct  will  meet 
the  approval  of  the  Commanding  General,  I  am, 
very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

STEWART  VAN  VLIET, 
Captain,  Assistant  Quartermaster. 

The  proclamation  of  Brigham  Young 
soon  followed  the  departure  of  Capt.  Van 
Vleit.  It  was  conveyed  to  Col.  Alexan- 
der, then  commanding  the  military  expe- 
dition, by  Lieut.  General  Wells,  who  sign- 
himself  "  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Nau- 
voo  Legion,"  a  tide  clearly  intended  to 
show  his  military  rank  and  position,  to  a 
military  man,  commanding  our  force.  Col. 
Alexander  very  properly,  as  I  will  show 
hereafter,  recognised  him  as  a  martial 
foe.  The  sending  this  by  such  a  mes- 
senger bears  with  it  an  argument  of  mili- 
tary purpose,  which  is  strengthened  by 
the  paper,  he  conveyed. 
^,_i  The  Proclamation  of  Brigham  Young. 

CITIZENS  OP  UTAH  :  We  are  invaded  by  a  hos- 
|tile  force,  who  are  evidently  assailing  us  to  ac- 
;complish  our  overthrow  and  destruction.  For 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  we  have  trusted  offi- 
cials of  the  Government,  from  constables  and 
justices,  to  judges,  Governors,  and  Presidents, 
only  to  be  scorned,  held  in  derision,  insulted, 
and  betrayed.  Our  houses  have  been  plundered 
and  then  burned,  our  fields  laid  waste,  our  prin- 
cipal men  butchered,  while  under  the  pledged 
faith  of  the  Government  for  their  safety,  and  our 
families  driven  from  their  homes  to  find  that 
shelter  in  the  barren  wilderness,  and  that  pro- 


tection among  hostile  savages,  which  were  denied 
them  in  the  boasted  abodes  of  Christianity  and 
civilization. 

The  Constitution  of  our  common  country  guar- 
anties unto  us  all  that  we  do  now  or  ever  have 
claimed.  If  the  constitutional  rights  which  per- 
tain unto  us  as  American  citizens  were  extended 
to  Utah,  according  to  the  spirit  and  meaning 
thereof,  and  fairly  and  impartially  administered, 
it  is  all  that  we  could  ask,  all  that  we  have  ever 
asked. 

Our  opponents  have  availed  themselves  of  pre- 
judices existing  against  us,  because  of  our  reli- 
gious faith,  to  send  out  a  formidable  host  to  ac- 
complish our  destruction.  We  have  had  no  privi 
lege  nor  opportunity  of  defending  ourselves  from 
the  false,  foul,  and  unjust,  aspersions  against  us, 
before  the  nation.  The  Government  has  not  con- 
descended to  cause  an  investigating  committee, 
or  other  person,  to  be  sent  to  inquire  into  and 
ascertain  the  truth,  as  is  customary  in  such  cases. 
We  know  those  aspersions  to  be  false,  but  that 
avails  us  nothing.  We  are  condemned  unheard, 
and  forced  to  an  issue  with  an  armed  mercenary 
mob,  which  has  been  sent  against  us  at  the  in- 
stigation of  anonymous  letter-writers,  ashamed 
to  father  the  base,  slanderous,  falsehoods  which 
they  have  given  to  the  public  ;  of  corrupt  officials, 
who  have  brought  false  accusations  against  us, 
to  screen  themselves  in  their  own  infamy  ;  and 
of  hireling  priests  and  howling  editors,  who  pros- 
titute the  truth  for  filthy  lucre's  sake. 

The  issue  which  has  thus  been  forced  upon 
us  compels  us  to  resort  to  the  great  first  law  of 
self-preservation,  and  stand  in  our  own  defence, 
a  right  guarantied  to  us  by  the  genius  of  the  in- 
stitutions of  our  country,  and  upen  which  the 
Government  is  based.  Our  duty  to  ourselves,  to 
our  families,  requires  us  not  to  tamely  submit  to 
be  driven  and  slain,  without  an  attempt  to  pre- 
serve ourselves.  Our  duty  to  our  country,  our 
holy  religion,  our  God,  to  freedom  and  liberty, 
requires  that  we  should  not  quietly  stand  still 
and  see  those  fetters  forging  around  us  which 
are  calculated  to  enslave  and  bring  us  in  sub- 
jection to  an  unlawful  military  despotism,  such 
as  can  only  emanate,  in  a  country  of  constitu- 
tional law,  from  usurpation,  tyranny,  and  op- 
pression. 

Therefore,  I,  Brigham  Young,  Governor  and 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  the  Territory 
of  Utah,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  the  Territory  of  Utah,  forbid — 

First.  All  armed  farces  of  every  description 
from  coming  into  this  Territory,  under  any  pre- 
tence whatever. 

Second.  That  all  the  forces  in  said  Territory 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice  to  repel  any  and  all  such  invasion. 

Third.  Martial  law  is  hereby  declared  to  exist 
in  this  Territory  from  and  after  the  publication 
of  this  proclamation  ;  and  no  person  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  pass  or  repass  into- or  through  or 
from  this  Territory,  without  a  permit  from  the 
proper  officer. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal,  at  Great  Salt 
Lake  City,  Territory  of  Utah,  this  15th  day  of 
September,  A.  D.  1857,  and  of  the  Independence 
of  the  United  States  of  America  the  eighty- 
second.  BRIGHAM  YOUNO. 


Both  these  documents  go  to  show  the 
determined  spirit  of  the  Mormon  leader ; 
that  he  was  resolved  to  resist  this  Govern- 
ment in  every  form.  That  proclamation 
is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  declara- 
tion of  war.  A  war,  not  against  the  In- 
dian hordes,  but  against  this  Government, 
the  Government  under  which  he  has  for 
years  held  office  and  received  pay,  and 
the  Government  which  maintains  and  sup- 
ports his  national  existence.  But  I  will 
not  stop  here.  I  do  not  stand  upon  the 
mere  declaration  of  Brigham  Young.  Go 
on  to  the  5th  of  October,  and  what  do 
you  see?  The  actual  commencement  of 
hostilities  by  the  Mormon  army  against 
the  army  of  the  United  States.  Colonel 
Alexander,  then  at  the  head  of  our  forces, 
after  speaking  of  the  communications 
from  Lieutenant  General  Wells  and  Brig- 
ham  Young,  says : 

"  Upon  receiving  these  letters.  I  prepared  for 
defence,  and  to  guard  the  supplies  near  us  until 
the  nearest  troops  came  up.  I  replied  to  Gov. 
Young's  letter,  a  copy  of  which  I  enclose,  and 
have  not  had  any  further  correspondence  with 
him.  On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  October,  the 
Mormons  burned  two  trains  of  Government  stores 
on  Green  river,  and  one  on  the  Big  Sandy,  and 
a  few  wagons  belonging  to  Mr.  Perry,  sutler  of 
the  tenth  infantry,  which  were  a  few  miles  be- 
hind the  latter  train.  Col.  Waite,  of  the  fifth, 
though  not  anticipating  any  act  of  this  kind,  was 
preparing  to  send  back  a  detachment  to  these 
trains  from  his  camp,  on  Black's  Fork,  when  he 
received,  from  some  teamsters  who  came  in,  the 
intelligence  of  their  being  burned.  No  doubt 
now  existed  that  the  most  determined  hostility 
might  be  expected  on  the  part  of  the  Mormons  ; 
and  it  became  necessary,  from  the  extreme  late- 
ness of  the  season,  to  adopt  some  immediate, 
course  for  wintering  tne  troops  and  preserving 
the  supply  trains." 

This  attack  on  the  property  of  our  army 
was  just  as  much  an  act  of  war  as  though :• 
it  had  been  on  the  prrsonnel  of  your  force. 
It  was  carrying  out  Young's  proclamation 
declaring  "  martial  law,"  and  forbidding, 
our  "armed  forces"  from  coming  into 
his  Territory.  This  act  has  never  been/ 
to  my  knowledge,  disavowed  by  the  acting: 
Governor;  and  thus  you  see  property  of 
the  United  Stales  to  the  amount  of  seventy 
or  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  destroyed 
by  the  Utah  forces.  If  that  be  not  an  act 
of  war,  what  is  ?  In  every  view  of  the 
subject,  it  is  as  much  an  act  of  war  as 
though  the  Mormons  had  charged  upon 
our  army,  or  committed  any  amount  of 
absolute  hostilities. 

As  further  evidence  of  the  animus  of 
the  Mormons,  in  chronological  array,  I 


1  will  read  to  the  House  a  report  of  the  pro- 
'  ceedings  of  Brigham  Young,  in  October 
last,  in  his  own  church.  It  is  from  a 
!  paper  published  by  a  Mormon  in  my  own 
i  district,  a  member  of  the  Church  of  the 
|  Latter-Day  Saints.  It  is  therefore  good 
I  authority,  because  the  editor  says  he  ex- 
|  tracts  it  from  the  Deseret  News,  which,  as 
i  is  well  known,  is  the  organ  of  Brigham 
I  Young.  I  read  from  the  Crescent  City 
Oracle  of  January  8th  : 

"  We  have  seen  files  of  the  Deseret  News  up 

i  to  the  latter  part  of  October,  which   indicate 

;  plainly  enough  the  determination  of  resistance 

!  to  the  military,  if  an  attempt  is  made  to  enter 

their  settlements. 

"  From  the  discourses  of  Brigham  Young  we 
make  the  following  extracts  : 

"  '  This  people  are  free  ;  they  are  not  in  bond- 
age to  any  Government  on  God's  footstool.  We 
have  transgressed  no  law,  and  we  have  no  occa- 
sion to  do  ««o,  neither  do  we  intend  to ;  but  as 
for  any  nation's  coming  to  destroy  this  people, 
God  Almighty  be  my  helper,  they  cannot  come 
here.  [The  congregation  responded  by  a  loud 
amen.]  That  is  my  feeling  upon  that  point.'  " 

Here  is  the  argument  of  Brigham 
Young: 

':?  "  If  you  do  your  duty,  you  need  not  be  afraid 
pf  mobs,  nor  of  forces  sent  out  in  violation  of  the 
yery  genius  of  our  free  institutions,  holding  you 
till  mobs  kill  you.  Mobs  ?  Yes ;  for  where  is 
U-here  the  least  particle  of  authority,  either  in  our 
^Constitution  or  laws,  for  sending  troops  here,  or 
%ven  for  appointing  civil  officers  contrary  to  the 
voluntary  consent  of  the  governed  ?  We  came 
here  without  any  help  from  our  enemies,  and  we 
intend  staying  here  as  long  as  we  please." 

I  read  further  from  his  sermon : 

f  "  Suppose  that  our  enemies  send  fifty  thousand 
;roops  here,  they  will  have  to  transport  all  that 
vili  be  requisite  to  sustain  them  over  one  winter, 
'or  I  promise  them,  before  they  come,  that  there 
fghall  not  be  one  particle  of  forage  nor  one 
taouthful  of  food  for  them,  should  they  come. 
They  will  have  to  bring  all  their  provisions  and 
forage,  and  though  they  start  their  teams  with 
as  heavy  loads  as  they  can  dratv,  not  one  can 
Ving  enough  to  sustain  itself,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  men.  If  there  were  no  more  men  here  than 
there  are  in  the  Seminole  nation,  our  enemies 
never  could  use  us  up,  but  they  could  use  up 
themselves,  which  they  will  do.  The  Seminoles, 
a  little  tribe  of  a  few  hundred,  in  Florida,  have 
ost  our  Government  nearly  one  hundred  million 
.ollars,  and  they  are  no  nearer  being  conquered 
than  when  the  war  was  commenced." 

This  is  open  defiance.  You  perceive 
that,  according  to  this  unequivocal  assump- 
tion, our  army  should  not  come  to  Salt 
Lake  valley  ;  and  that  this  Government 
had  no  right  to  appoint  officers  for  that 
Territory.  Owing  to  their  remote  loca- 
tion, occupying  a  strong  military  position 


in  the  mountain  passes,  relying  upon  the 
strength  of  his  isolation  and  our  unfortu- 
nate delay  in  subduing  the  Seminoles,  he 
boldly  defies  us.  Knowing.our  aversion  to 
prosecute  with  vigor  a  war  against  savages, 
knowing  the  natural  aversion  of  our  peo- 
ple to  send  large  forces  against  a  weak 
ibe,  and  knowing  the  natural  advantages 
which  he  has  in  a  wild  mountainous  coun- 
try, he  exults  in  a  protracted  war  like  that 
existing  against  a  few  Seminole  Indians. 

This  you  recollect  was  in  the  month- of 
October.  In  November  following,  Govern- 
or Gumming,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
succeed  Governor  Young,  issued  his  proc- 
lamation, warning  his  predecessor  that  he 
was  no  longer  Governor.  How  does 
Brigham  Young  act  upon  the  reception  of 
this  information  ?  Does  he  yield  to  tne  new 
appointment  made  in  pursuance  of  the 
organic  act  of  the  Territory?  No,  sir; 
although  he  himself  was  appointed  under 
the  same  organic  act,  he  refused  to  recog- 
nise the  appointment  of  Governor  Gum- 
ming, and  calls  together  the  Legislature  of 
Utah,  which,  at  last  advices,  December  21, 
was  still  in  session.  In  pursuance  of  his  for- 
mer position,  declining  to  recognise  a  suc- 
cessor, he  has  issued  a  long  proclamation, 
ably  written,  argumentative,  reiteratinghis 
former  position,  and  avowing  his  intention 
to  resist  to  the  death  any  attempt  of  the 
army  of  the  United  States  to  enter  that 
Terriotry,  and  adhering  to  the  position 
that  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
has  no  power  to  appoint  officers  for  that 
Territory.  I  present  the  following  closing 
extract  from  his  message  : 

"Fully  aware,  as  has  been  justly  written,  that 
'patriotism  does  not  consist  in  aiding  Govern- 
ment in  every  base  or  stupid  act  it  may  perform, 
but  rather  in  paralyzing  its  power  when  it  vio- 
lates vested  rights,  affronts  insulted  justice,  and 
assumes  undelegated  authority,'  and  knowing 
that  the  so-called  army,  reported  to  be  on  its  way 
to  Utah,  was  an  undisguised  mob,  if  not  sent  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  if  sent  by 
him,  iu  the  manner  and  for  the  purpose  alleged 
in  all  the  information  permitted  to  reach  us,  was 
no  less  a  mob,  though  in  the  latter  event  acting 
under  the  color  of  law ;  upon  learning  its  near 
approach,  I  issued,  as  in  constitutional  duty 
bound,  a  proclamation  expressly  forbidding  all 
bodies  of  armed  men.  under  whatsoever  name  or 
by  whomsoever  sent,  to  come  within  the  bounds 
of  this  Territory.  That  so-called  army,  or,  more 
strictly  speaking,  mob,  refused  to  obey  that  proc- 
lamation, copies  of  which  were  officially  furnished 
them,  and  prosecuted  their  march  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Forts  Bridger  and  Supply,  (which 
were  vacated  and  burnt  upon  their  approach,) 
where  it  is  said  they  intend  to  winter.  Under 


these  circumstances,  I  respectfully  suggest  that 
you  take  such  measures  as  your  enlightened 
judgment  may  dictate,  to  insure  public  tranquil- 
lity, and  protect,  preserve,  and  perpetuate  invio- 
late those  inalienable  constitutional  rights  which 
have  descended  to  us  a  rich  legacy  from  our  fore- 
fathers. 

<;  A  civilized  nation  is  one  tfcflat  never  infringes 
upon  the  righls  of  its  citizens,  but  strives  to  pro- 
tect and  make  happy  all  within  its  sphere,  which 
our  Government,  above  all  others,  is  obligated 
to  accomplish,  though  its  present  course  is  as 
far  from  that  wise  and  just  path  as  the  earth  is 
from  the  sun.  And,  under  the  aggravated  abu- 
ses that  have  been  heaped  upon  us  in  the  past, 
you  and  the  whole  people  are  my  witnesses,  that 
it  has  more  particularly  fallen  to  rny  lot,  and 
been  my  policy  and  practice,  to  restrain  rather 
than  urge  resistance  to  usurpation  and  tyranny 
on  the  part  of  the  enemies  to  the  Constitution 
and  constitutional  laws,  (who  are  also  our  ene- 
mies, and  the  enemies  of  all  Republics  and  re- 
publicans,) until  forbearance,  under  such  .cruel 
and 'illegal  treatment,  cannot  well  be  longer 
exercised.  No  one  has  denied,  nor  wishes  to 
deny,  the  right  of  the  Government  to  send  its 
troops  when,  where,  and  as  it  pleases,  so  it  is 
but  done  clearly  within  the  authorities  and  limit- 
ations of  the  Constitution,  and  for  the  safety  and 
welfare  of  the  people ;  but  when  it  sends  them 
clearly  without  the  pale  of  those  authorities  and 
limitations,  unconstitutionally  to  oppress  the  peo- 
ple, as  is  the  case  in  the  so-called  army  sent  to 
Utah,  it  commits  a  treason  against  itself  which 
commands  the  resistance  of  all  good  men,  or 
Freed'om  will  depart  our  nation. 

"  In  compliance  with  a  long-established  sys- 
tem in  appointing  officers  not  of  the  people's 
electing,  which  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  would  at  once,  in  justice,  decide  to  be 
unconstitutional,  we  have  petitioned  and  peti- 
tioned that  good  men  be  appointed,  until  that 
hope  is  exhausted ;  and  we  have  long  enough 
borne  the  insults  and  outrages  of  lawless  officials, 
until  we  are  compelled,  in  self-defence,  to  assert 
and  maintain  that  great  constitutional  right  of 
the  governed  to  officers  of  their  own  election,  and 
local  laws  of  their  own  enactment.  That  the 
President  and  the  counsellors,  aiders  and  abet- 
tors of  the  present  treasonable  crusade  against 
the  peace  and  rights  of  a  Territory  of  the  United 
States,  may  reconsider  their  course  and  retrace 
their  steps,  is  earnestly  to  be  desired  ;  but  in 
either  event,  our  trust  and  confidence  are  in  that 
Being,  who  at  his  pleasure  rules  among  the  ar- 
mies of  heaven,  and  controls  the  wrath  of  the 
children  of  men,  and  most  cheerfully  should  we 
be  able  to  abide  the  issue. 

"  Permit  me  to  tender  you  my  entire  confidence 
that  your  deliberations  will  be  distinguished 
by  that  wisdom,  unanimity,  and  love  of  justice, 
that  have  ever  marked  the  counsels  of  our  Leg- 
islative Assemblies,  and  the  assurance  of  my 
hearty  co-operation  in  every  measure  you  adopt 
for  promoting  the  true  interests  of  a  Territory 
beloved  by  us  for  its  very  isolation  and  forbidding 
aspect;  for  here,  if  anywhere  upon  this  footstool 
of  our  God,  have  we  the  privilege  and  prospect 
of  being  able  to  secnre  and  enjoy  those  inestima- 
ble rights  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  which 


6 


the  beneficent  Creator  of  all  mankind  has,  in  His 
mercy,  made  indefeasible,  and  perpetuate  them 
upon  a  broader  and  firmer  basis,  for  the  benefit 
of  ourselves,  of  our  children  and  our  children's 
children,  until  peace  shall  be  restored  to  our  dis- 
tracted country.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG." 

The  Legislature  called  together  by  him, 
endorsed  the  message  of  Brigham  Young, 
and  pledged  themselves  to  aid  in  carrying 
out  his  desperate  views  of  resistance  to 
the  anthorities  and  laws  of  the  United 
States.  These  resolutions  should  also  go 
before  the  world,  and  I  therefore  present 
them  to  the  House : 

Resolutions,  expressive  of_  the  sense  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Utah,  relative  to  the 
message  and  official  course  of  his  Excellency  Gov- 
ernor Brigham  Young. 

Resolved,  That  we  unanimously  and  most  cor- 
dially, for  ourselves,  and  in  behalf  of  the  well- 
known  feelings  of  our  constituents,  concur  in  the 
sentiments  and  doctrines  advanced  in  the  mes- 
sage delivered  by  his  Excellency  Governor 
Young,  i.o  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  this  Ter- 
ritory, convened  in  the  Representatives'  Hall,  in 
Great  Salt  Lake  City,  December  15,  1857. 

Resolved,  That  the  entire  policy  and  all  the 
acts  of  his  Excellency  Governor  Young  have 
been  able,  just,  and  humane — conducive  to  and 
protective  of  the  development  of  the  best  inter- 
ests and  welfare  both  of  this  Territory  and  of  the 
General  Government,  so  far  as  that  poliqy  and 
those  acts  could  accomplish  so  desirable  a  re- 
sult. 

Resolved,  That  we  hold  ourselves.,  our  means, 
and  influence,  in  readiness  to  sustain  his  Excel- 
lency Governor  Young  in  every  act  he  may  per- 
form or  dictate,  in  accordance  with  the  Constitu- 
tion and  constitutional  laws  of  the  United  States 
And  the  laws  of  Utah,  for  the  protection  of  the 
lives,  peace,  and  prosperity,  of  the  people  of  this 
Territory. 

Resolved,  That  neither  the  present  nor  any 
other  Administration  of  the  General  Government 
shall  enforce  profane,  drunken,  and  otherwise 
corrupt  officials  upon  us  at  the  point  of  the  bay- 
onet ;  and  that  the  attempts  so  to  do  by  the 
present  incumbent  of  the  Executive  chair  of  our 
nation  has  incurred  that  contempt  and  deter- 
mined opposition  of  all  good  men  which  such  an 
act  of  usurped  authority  and  oppression  so  richly 
deserves. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  deprecate  the  bitter 
hostility  manifested  toward  a  most  loyal  and  in- 
nocent people  by  the  present  Administration  of 
the  General  Government,  we  will  continue  to  re- 
sist any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Administra- 
tion to  bring  us  into  a  state  of  vassalage,  by  ap- 
pointing, contrary  to  the  Constitution,  officers 
whom  the  people  have  neither  vote  nor  voice  in 
electing ;  nor  shall  any  persons  appointed  to 
office  for  Utah  by  the  present  Administration 
either  qualify  for,  or  assume  and  discharge,  with- 
in the  limits  of  this  Territory,  the.  functions  of 
the  offices  to  which  they  have  been  appointed, 
so  1  ng  as  our  Territory  is  menaced  by  an  inva- 
ding army,  (for  such  an  army  cannot  have  been; 


sent  to  protect  either  the  citizens  or  the  passing 
emigration,  but  is  manifestly  sent  to  afd  in 
trampling  upon  American  liberty,)  nor  so  long 
as  such  appointees  are  so  pusillanimous  as  to 
require  a  numerous  armed  force  to  attend  their 
beck,  to  enable  them  to  carry  out  the  traitorous 
designs  concocted  for  depriving  American  citi- 
zens of  their  indefeasible  and  vested  rights. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  at  least  have  our  con- 
stitutional rights  to  a  voice  in  the  selection  of 
our  Territorial  officers,  and  in  the  enactment  of 
local  laws  for  our  government. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  signed  by 
the  members  of  the  two  Houses,  and  be  printed 
in  the  Deseret  News. 


Unanimously  adopted  and  signed,  December  21, 
1857. 

Councillors.  —  Heber  C.  Kimball,  President; 
Daniel  H.  Wells,  Albert  Ca-rington,  F.  D.  Rich- 
ards, Wilford  Woodruff,  Joseph  Holbrook,  Loren- 
zo Snow,  Lorin  Farr,  Benjamin  F.  Johnson, 
Leonard  E.  Harrington,  Warren  S.  Snow,  Lewis 
Brunson,  George  A.  Smith. 

Representatives. — John  Taylor,  Speaker ;  W.  W. 
Phelps,  A.  P.  Rockwood,  J.  C.  Little,  Daniel 
Spencer,  Alexander  McRae^  Orson  Hyde,  J.  W. 
Cummings,  Hosea  Stout,  Joseph  A.  Young,  H.  B. 
Clawson,  John  Rowberry,  John  D.  Parker,  Red- 
dick  N.  Allred,  Chauncy  W.  West,  Jonathan  C. 
Wright,  Aaron  Johnson,  James  C.  Snow,  Pres- 
ton Thomas,  Jacob  G.  Bigler,  George  Peacock, 
P.  T.  Farnsworth,  Isaac  C.  Haight,  John  D.  Lee, 
Isaac  Bullock. 

This,  sir,  is  the  position  of  the  Mormons 
at  this  time.  They  are  in  rebellion,  in  re- 
sistance, in  a  state  of  war  against  the  Uni- 
ted States.  They  have  declared  war, 
and  have  declared  that  they  will  resist  the 
approach  of  an  army,  or  any  other  power 
of  the  United  States ;  that  they  are  free 
and  independent.  I  therefore  say  that 
an  exigency  has  arisen  when  the  people  of 
a  Territory  of  this  country  are  in  a  state 
of  open  war  against  the  United  States, 
and  are  therefore  guilty,  not  of  construc- 
tive, but  of  high  treason  against  the  Gov- 
ernment. J  do  not  wish  to  aggravate  the 
offence  of  the  Mormons.  I  place  them 
on  the  ground  upon  which  their  own  pa- 
pers place  them.  But,  sir,  while  I  would 
not  aggravate  an  offence,  I  cannot  treat 
the  matter  in  any  other  light  than  that  of  a 
high  crime,  which  deserves  the  calm?  firm, 
fearless  attention  of  the  American  Con- 
gress. Gentlemen  must  not  regard  this  as 
'the  idle  boasting  of  ignorant  imbecility — 
as  something  that  will  pass  over  in  a  few 
weeks.  I  tell  them  that  I  do  not  so  re- 
gard it.  On  the  contrary,  I  forewarn  gen- 
tlemen that  it  is  a  painful,  perplexing, 
disgraceful  reality,  which  it  becomes  us  to 
consider  in  all  its  present  bearings,  and 


all  its  pending  consequences  to  the  peace 
and  honor  of  our  country. 

If  gentlemen  suppose  they  are  to  be 
subdued  easily,  I  tell  them  they  are  mista- 
ken. The  Mormons  are  a  thousand  miles 
from  our  settlements  ;  they  occupy  the 
passes  of  the  mountains;  they  now  num- 
ber some  sixty  thousand  people.  I  have 
seen  them  from  year  to  year  on  their 
march  to  Salt  Lake  valley  ;  and,  from  my 
own  personal  observation,  I  knowthey  are  a 
powerful  and  formidable  force  to  encoun- 
ter. They  can  at  any  time  muster  from 
five  to  ten  thousand  men,  fully  armed  and 
equipped  for  war.  The  position  which 
they  occupy  in  relation  to  the  possession 
of  the  soil,  their  homes,  adds  a  powerful 
incentive  of  resistance  to  the  United 
States  authorities.  They  have  not  pur- 
chased their  land.  They  claim  it  as  the 
squatters  of  the  West  claim.  They  have 
not  purchased  their  homes,  as  you  have 
yours  ;  and  they  are  willing  to  fight  for 
them  against  a  power  which  their  leaders 
have  taught  them  to  believe  has  purposed 
to  crush  and  destroy  them. 

I  know  that  they  have  heretofore  been 
aggravated  by  acts  of  cruelty  and  persecu- 
tion. They  have  been  driven  from  place 
to  place  ;  but,  it  is  to  be>  recollected,  these 
persecutions  have  been  generally  superin- 
duced by  their  own  folly.  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  speak  of  anything  in  the  past,  ex- 
cept to  show  the  fails  incident  to  the  pres- 
ent attitude  of  affairs.  I  do  not  propose 
to  say  anything  of  what  has  been  done, 
or  what  has  not  been  done ;  that  is 
not  pertinent  to  the  present  ques- 
tion. I  say  nothing  of  the  blunders  that 
have  been  committed  in  years  past.  We 
have  no  occasion  to  go  so  far  back.  We 
are  obliged  to  take  the  question  as  it  is 
now  presented  to  us.  The  Mormons  have 
declared  war  against  us;  and,  as  national 
legislators,  it  becomes  us  calmly  to  inquire 
how  far  are  we  called  upon  to  inflict  the 
fearful  penalties  due  to  such  crimes.  Will 
you  withdraw  your  army?  Will  you  disgrace 
your  banners  which  you  have  sent  there, 
by  lowering  them  before  such  an  array  of 
Mormon  force  ?  Will  you  disgrace  these 
men  who  now  stand  before  your  foes — 
men  who  have  fought  the  battles  of  their 
country  in  former  wars — men  who  have 
won  honorable  distinction  in  the  service 
of  the  country  in  many  a  well-fought  bat- 
tle ?  I  implore  for  them  the  consideration 
of  this  House. 


Mr.  BURROUGHS.  I  desire  to  know 
how  many  men  of  the  army  are  now  sta- 
tioned in  Kansas  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  reply  to  the  gentleman 
as  far  as  my  information  goes,  (and  I  in- 
tend to  notice  this  subject  again  in  another 
part  of  my  argument;)  I  suppose  there 
«re  about  three  thousand  men  in  Kansas 
and  in  the  vicinity — some  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth  and  some  at  Jefferson  Barracks, 
but  all  in  sinking  distance  of  Kansas. 

VOLUNTEERS. 

I  now  proceed  to  the  second  branch  of 
my  subject,  the  consideration  of  the  kind,, 
of  force  which  ought  to  be  employed. 
How  have  we  always  heretofore  acted, 
when  occasion  called  for  a  military  force? 
We  have  called  upon  the  regulars  and  the 
volunteers,  and  upon  some  occasions  the 
militia  have  turned  out.  The  Government 
has,  at  sundry  times,  paid  for  these  extra- 
ordinary efforts  of  the  militia  and  volun- 
teers, although  they  have  gone  without 
authority  of  law,  believing  they  did  good 
service  to  their  country,  however  irregular 
and  unarmed  they  have  rushed  to  real  or 
apparent  danger.  But  I  speak  not  of  such 
impulsive  gatherings  offeree;  no  military 
calculations  should  be  made  from  them. 
I  speak  of  regular  volunteers,  like  those 
who  went  to  Mexico;  I  speak  of  such  as 
are  proposed  in  this  bill.  We  have  a  large 
force  of  regulars  in  Kansas  that  can  be 
spared,  and  this  bill  proposes  to  add  five 
regiments  of  volunteers  for  the  Morrnon 
and  frontier  service,  vvhich,  together,  is 
none  too  much. 

Because  of  the  remote  position  of  the 
field  of  operations,  it  will  icquire  at  least 
two  or  three  months  to  convey  a  support- 
ing force  where  it  can  co-operate  with 
Colonel  Johnson.  It  will  require  sixty 
days  after  you  actually  start  your  column, 
on  the  supposition  that  you  take  the  army 
now  in  Kansas,  and  make  that  region  or 
Nebraska  your  place  of  rendezvous.  If, 
then,  you  would  reinforce  our  Utah  army, 
act  immediately;  for,  with  your  earliest 
efforts,  and  before  you  will  have  reached 
Col.  Johnson,  months  will  have  transpired, 
and  further  regrets  may  be  occasioned. 
We  cannot  state  the  exact  time  that  will 
be  required  to  raise  forces^  not  already  in 
service  ;  but  if  you  expect  to  assist,  it  is 
manifest  you  cannot  be  too  soon  about  it. 
You  cannot  get  any  force  upon  the  fron- 
tier, ready  for  movement,  in  less  than  thirty 
days.  So  it  may  be  July  or  August  before 


8 


you  can  get  a  sufficient  force  in  position. 
This  leads  me  to  prefer  volunteers,  as  I 
believe  that  force  can  be  got  there  soonest. 
I  recommend  volunteers,  as  I  believe  them 
the  most  available. 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia  [Mr. 
FAULKNER]  said  it  was  the  purpose  of 
the  President  to  call  into  action  all  the 
regulars  now  in  the  western  part  of  the 
United  States.  I  am  glad  to  hear  the 
Government  is  going  to  collect  all  this 
available  force,  and  put  it  en  route  to  par- 
ticipate in  this  Utah  service;  yet  admit- 
ting and  relying  on  this,  let  the  Govern- 
ment do  the  best  they  can,  that  force  can- 
not be  collected  and  equipped  so  as  to 
move  forward  before  the  1st  of  May  ;  and 
all  the  regular  force  the  Government  can 
rally  will  not,  as  I  suppose,  augment  the 
present  force  to  more  than  three  thousand 
five  hundred  men.  I  tell  this  House,  we 
have  got  to  go  into  Utah  against  an  oppo- 
sing force  of  five  or  ten  thousand,  and  there- 
fore you  should  have  an  active  force  in 
Utah  of  five  thousand  men.  It  is  need- 
less to  talk  of  rallying  all  the  regulars,  as 
they  are  so  widely  spread  throughout  our 
remote  Territories,  and  so  fixed  at  stations 
that  they  are  not v  available  for  present 
need  in  a  Utah  campaign. 

Mr.  LOVEJOY.  I  wish  to  inquire  of 
the  gentleman,  how  many  soldiers  there 
will  be,  with  the  aimy  now  OB  its  way, 
and  those  now  in  Kansas,  provided  they 
were  united  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  In  reply  I  will  tell  the 
gentleman  how  I  estimate  the  force  which 
will  be  necessary  to  carry  on  a  successful 
campaign,  and  the  sources  from  which  to 
obtain  it.  Jn  the  first  place,  you  want  one 
regiment  on  this  side  of  FortLaramie,  and 
one  west  of  it,  to  sustain  the  military 
posts  along  the  route,  and  guard  your 
stores  at  Fort  Bridger.  That  makes  two 
regiments.  You  want  another  movable 
regiment  to  guard  the  transportation  of 
supplies  from  the  frontier  to  Utah.  That 
is  three  regiments.  In  addition  to  that, 
you  may  calculate  upon  a  force  equal  to 
one  regiment  of  sick  and  disabled  men. 
That  is  four.  And  when  you  get  there, 
you  must  have  five  regiments  to  act  -effi- 
ciently. Is  that  too  much  ?  Five  regi- 
ments to  operate  in  the  enemy's  country? 

Mr.  LOVEJOY.     I  think  it  is. 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  think  not.  That  makes 
nine  regiments,  or  say  nine  thousand  men. 
Now,  how  will  you  raise  this  requisite 


force  1  In  the  first  place,  I  suppose  that 
all  the  regular  troops  which  you  can  from 
vsrious  quarters  collect  at  a  rendezvous, 
which  should  be  at  or  near  Council  Bluffs, 
may  amount  to  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred men  ;  and  from  all  the  information 
that  I  can  get,  I  apprehend  there  will  not 
be  more  than  this  number  collected  from 
Western  posts.  There  are  now  in  Utah, 
under  Colonel  Johnston,  little  more  than 
one  thousand  men  ;  but  when  spring  ar- 
rives, desertions,  discharges,  and  other 
casualties,  will  reduce  it  to  about  this  num- 
ber; making  the  entire  regular  force  ap- 
plicable to  this  service,  only  four  thousand 
five  hundred.  We  propose,  by  the  bill 
reported  by  our  committee,  to  give  the 
President  four  regiments  of  volunteers, 
which  is  only  eight  thousand  five  hundred 
men  ;  lacking  five  hundred  of  the  number 
which  I  have  estimated  as  necessary. 
After' allowing  all  that  the  bill  proposes, 
the  line  of  operation  this  side  of  the  val- 
ley must  be  meagrely  supplied,  in  order  to 
give  the  requisite  force — five  thousand 
men — to  operate  in  Utah. 

Mr.  LOVEJOY.  What  does  the  gen- 
tleman propose  to  do  with  five  thousand 
men  in  Utah  valley  ? 

Mr.  C URTIS.  They  are  wanted  there  to 
prosecute  war  against  five  or  ten  thousand 
Mormons,  which  are  now,  or  will  be,  in 
arms  to  receive  them.  They  are  wanted 
to  move  from  point  to  point,  as  exigencies 
may  require. 

Mr.  LOVEJOY.  Does  the  gentleman 
consider  that  warexisfs? 

Mr.  CURTIS.     I  do. 

Mr.  LOVEJOY.     Who  declared  it  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  Brigham  Young,  as  the 
leader  and  former  Governor  of  the  Mor- 
mons, who  has  put  his  forces  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenaant  General  Wells. 

Mr.  LOVEJOY.  Has  the  gentleman 
his  manifesto? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  have  it ;  and,  with  the 
consent  of  the  House,  I  will  incorporate 
a  portion  of  it  in  my  speech.  I  think  it 
will  convince  that  gentleman,  and  all 
others,  that  the  opposing  forces  are  in  a 
state  of  actual  war.  But  I  desire  not  to 
be  detained  or  forced  from  the  line  of  my 
argument. 

The  point  I  was  making  is,  that  we  need 
the  forces  provided  for  in  this  bill,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  increasing  the  standing 
army,  but  for  the  purpose  of  giving  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States  ample 


9 

power  to  prosecute  this  war  ;  for  I  insist,  I 
with  regret,  that    war   has    already    com-  [ 
jmenced.     Gentlemen  may  smile,  and  re- 
jgard  it  as   futile,  but  three  years  will  not 
! roll  around  before  they  will  know  that  the 
| Government    has    already  acted  with  too 
(much  leniency  towards   this  people,  now 
'in  open  and  avowed  resistance  to  all  the 
(powers  of  this  Government. 

Mr.    LOVEJOY.     I    desire  to  ask  the 
gentleman  if  we  have  declared  war? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  do  not  deem  it  neces- 
sary for  this  Government  to  declare  war. 
I  take  the  facts,  and  from  the  facts,  as  I 
present  them  to  this  House,  I  say  war 
actually  exists.  I  regret  that  such  is  the 
fact.  I  wish  there  was  any  contrary  show- 
ing, any  intimation  on  the  part  of  the 
Mormons  that  they  are  willing  to  avoid 
the  dread  conclusion.  I  am  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  many  of  these  people;  for 
there  are  many  of  the  Latter-Day  Saints  in 
the  West,  and  there  is  a  constant  inter- 
course between  them  and  their  friends  in 
Utah.  When  they  mingle  and  live  with  our 
citizens,  they  are  quiet,  law-abiding,  and 
generally  wortjjy  citizens.  But  when  ag- 
gregated together,  as  they  were  in  Ohio, 
Missouri,  Illinois,  and  as  they  now  are  at 
Salt  Lake,  they  become  bigoted,  fanatical, 
vain-glorious  ;  and,  regarding  the  exterior 
world  as  "  gentiles,"  they  resist  all  inter- 
course as  interference;  and  when  crimes 
are  committed  against  gentiles,  the  crimi 
nals  are  shielded  by  a  cloak  of  fanaticism 
This  isolation  is  inconsistent  with  the  na- 
ture of  our  social  and  political  organiza 
tion  ;  and  it  always  has  and  always  will 
lead  to  strife,  conflict,  and  ultimate  disas 
ter  to  the  weaker  party.  You  have  got  to 
meet  these  Mormons  as  they  are — in  aims 
against  your  Government. 

Mr.  POTTLE.  I  desire  to  ask  my 
friend  what  assurance  he  can  give  that  the 
troops,  if  raised,  will  be  ut.ed  against  the 
Mormons?  And  further,  if  the  chairman  o 
the  Military  CommitUee  in  the  Senate  did 
not,  in  asking  for  those  troops,  say  that 
they  were  not  asked  expressly  for  Utah 
but  to  uphold  the  peace  of  the  country  r 
Mr.  CURTIS.  I  have  no  authority  to 
guaranty  the  course  which  this  Adminis- 
tration will  pursue.  The  gentleman  knows 
I  do  not  affiliate  with  that  party.  I  take 
facts  before  me,  and  the  public  documents 
which  we  are  bound  to  respect;  I  take 
the  President's  message;  I  take  there 
port  of  the  officers  of  the  army,  whom  ] 


have  known  for  years,  and  whose  charac- 
ters are  above  suspicion,  and  1  tell  the 
rentleman  they  represent  matters  as  I  have 
>resented  them.  I  have  it  from  the  Com- 
nanding  General  himself,  Lieutenant  Gen- 
eral Scott,  that  the  order  has  gone  forth, 
)r  will  go,  directing  the  forward  move- 
nent  of  the  regulars  in  Kansas  for  opera- 
ions  in  Utah.  The  gentleman  from  Vir- 
jinia,  [Mr.  FAULKNER,]  who  has  the  ear 
of  the  Administration  as  intimately  as  any 
>ther  gentleman  on  the  Military  Commit- 
ee,  and  perhaps  as  frequently  as  any  other 
gentleman  in  the  House,  tells  you  that  the 
whole  force  shall  be  moved  from  all  the 
West  in  the  Utah  column.  I  take  him  at 
his  word.  If  the  Administration  will  dare 
to  neglect  the  honor  of  his  country  by  re- 
using to  send  out  such  assistance  as  is  at 
lis  command,  and  such  as  we  deem  ne- 
;essary  and  proper,  let  them  take  the  re- 
sponsibility. Let  us  do  our  duty,  and  hold 
other  branches  of  the  Government  account- 
able for  their  shortcomings  or  errors. 

Mr.  BURROUGHS.  I  wish  to  know 
if  the  gentleman  believes  that  this  Ad- 
ministration will  respect  its  pledges  about 
anything? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  will  not  go  so  Tar  as 
to  impute  to  the  President  of  the  United 
S'ates  a  want  of  integrity  in  a  matter  so 
delicate  as  that  which  pertains  to  his  duty 
as  Commander-in-chief  of  our  ay^ies.  I 
infer,  from  the  inquiry  made  by  rny  friend 
from  New  York,  [Mr.  POTTLE,]  that  he 
apprehends  this  temporary  military  in- 
crease is  not  asked  for  upon  the  ground 
which  I  have  stated;  that  is,  for  an  expe- 
dition to  Utah.  I  will  read  from  the  Pres- 
ident's message  to  show  that  he  does  put 
it  emphatically  on  the  ground  of  the  n\e- 
cessity  of  sending  a  force  against  Utah. 
Let  us  deal  fairly.  This  is  a  matter  too 
grave  and  important  to  be  made  a  politi- 
cal question  of.  It  is  a  question  in  which 
the  whole  Republic  is  interested  ;  and,  if 
we  differ  about  it,  let  us  at  least  meet  it 
honestly  and  honorably.  ,  What  does  the 
President  say,  in  speeking  of  this  Ulah 
matter?  He  says,  speaking  of  the  con- 
duct of  Brigharn  Young  towards  Captain 
Van  Vleit: 

"  A  great  part  of  all  this  may  be  idle  boasting  ; 
but  yet,  no  wise  Government  will  lightly  esti- 
mate the  efforts  which  may  be  inspired  by  such 
frenzied  fanaticism  as  exists  among  the  Mor- 
mons in  Utah.  This  is  the  ffrst  rebellion  which 
has  existed  ia  our  Territories  ;^a.nd  humanity  it- 
self requires  that  we  should  put  it  down  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  shall  be  the  last.  To  trifle  with 


10 


it  would  be  to  encoueage  it  and  to  render  it  for- 
midable. We  ought  to  go  there  with  such  an 
imposing  force  as  to  convince  these  deluded  peo- 
ple that  resistance  would  be  vain,  and  thus  spare 
the  effusion  of  blood.  We  can  in  this  manner 
best  convince  them  that  we  are  their  friends,  not 
their  enemies.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  ob- 
ject, it  will  be  necessary,  according  to  the  esti- 
mate of  the  War  Department,  to  raise  four  addi- 
tional regiments  ;  and  this  I  earnestly  recommend 
to  Congress.  At  the  present  moment  of  depres- 
sion in  the  revenues  of  the  country,  I  am  sorry  to 
be  obliged  to  recommend  such  a  measure ;  but  I 
feel  confident  of  the  support  of  Congress,  cost 
what  it  may,  in  suppressing  the  insurrection, 
and  in  restoring  and  maintaining  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Constitution  and  laws  over  the  Territory 
Of  Utah." 

No  matter  how  others  have  spoken,  we 
must  take  notice  of  the  matter  as  slated 
by  the  Piesident.  If  he  placed  it  on  the 
ground  of  a  standing  increase  of  the  army, 
I  would  oppose  him.  I  wish  gentlemen 
to  notice  that  the  President  puts  it  upon 
the  ground  of  a  Utah  expedition ;  and  if  he 
fails  for  want  of  adequate  force,  in  case 
we  withhold  it,  he  will  bring  his  request  as 
an  argument  for  his  justification  and  our 
reproach.  He  does  not  define  the  kind 
of  troops.  He  does  not  say  that  he  wants 
regulars.  He  says  he  wants  four  regi- 
ments, and  I  am  told  this  four  was  a  cleri- 
cal error ;  that  he  designed  to  commend 
the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  who 
speaks  (*f  five.  I  say  this  in  reply  to  the 
gentleman  from  Virginia,  [Mr.  FAULK- 
NER,] who  spoke  yesterday  as  though  the 
President  had  called  for  regulars,  and  we 
are  offering  him  volunteers.  Neither  does 
the  Secratary  of  War  call  for  regulars.  He 
says  that  he  wants  five  regiments,  and 
then  he  says  that  experience  has  proved 
that  legulars  are  more  economical  than 
volunteers.  That  is  all  the  Secretary  of 
War  says.  The  Commander-in-chief, 
General  Scott,  says  nothing  as  to  the  kind 
of  troops.  He  leaves  that  to  the  discre- 
tion of  Congress.  I  am  willing  to  admit 
that  the  Commander-in-chief,  like  all  army 
officers,  always  looks  for  an  increase  of 
the  regular  army  when  more  force  is  called 
for.  He  has  spent  his  life  with  regulars; 
and  our  army  is  affectionately  attached  to 
him,  as  he  is  to  the  army- — it  is  natural. 
He  has  not  studied  the  advantages  of  volun- 
teers, as  some  of  us  who  have  served  with 
them  ;  and,  following  natural  attachments 
and  impulses,  he  would  prefer  regulars. 
The  wisest  and  best  of  men  are  subject 
to  the  common  infirmities  of  our  species, 
and  are  influenced  by  similar  motives  as 


other  men.  Our  army  officers  all  enter- 
tain a  just  pride  for  their  profession.  Their 
promotion,  their  rank,  their  dominion,  all 
seem  to  advance  with  the  increase  of  the 
regular  army.  I  wish  it  was  otherwise.  I 
hope  the  day  will  come  when  their  rank 
and  promotion,  and  professional  prosperi- 
ty, will  depend  more  on  affiliation  with 
the  volunteer  forces  of  our  country.  Such 
an  affinity  would  advance  the  interests  of 
the  volunteers,  greatly  increase  the  mill-  ; 
tary  power  of  our  country,  and  check  a 
current  of  prejudice  which  seems  to  in- 
crease against  our  regular  army. 

The  calling  for  additional  military  force 
does  not  necessarily  involve  the  character 
of  either  kind,  because  it  is,  after  all,  only 
recruits  or  fresh  men  that  we  enrol  in  the 
service  ;  and  whether  we  call  them  regu- 
lars or  volunteers,  they  all  come  under  the 
same  "rules  and  regulations."  If  the 
comparison  of  veteran  regulars  be  made 
with  fresh  levies  of  volunteers,  I  would 
award  the  preference  where  it  evidently 
belongs,  to  the  former;  but,  if  you  compare 
fresh  volunteers  with  fresh  recruits,  I  also 
award  the  preference  where  it  belongs,  to 
the  volunteers  ;  because  I  know  they  gen- 
erally embody  a  better  class  of  our  citizens, 
who  are  more  easily  learned  their  duty. 

But,  sir,  I  have  not  raised  this  compari- 
son of  our  different  kinds  of  force,  and, 
as  far  as  possible,  I  wish  to  do  justice  to 
the  volunteers  without  prejudice  to  the 
regular  army.  I  have  attempted  to  show 
that  you  must  have  at  least  nine  regiments 
to  make  a  successful  campaign  in  Utah, 
and  that  four  additional  regiments  are  ne- 
cessary, in  order  to  secure  that  amaunt; 
and  time  being  material,  volunteers  are 
most  appropriate.  I  say  that  volunteers 
will  be  most  easily  and  speedily  raised. 
What  has  been  the  success  of  our  efforts 
to  increase  the  army  within  the  last  few 
years  ?  It  will  be  recollected  that,  a  year 
or  two  ago,  Congress  passed  a  law  increas- 
ing the  pay  of  the  officers  and  soldiers.  It 
was  supposed  that,  after  that,  recruiting 
would  go  on  with  greater  activity.  And 
yet  we  tec  that  the  army  is  not  full.  The 
returns  of  the  Adjutant  General  for  the  last 
year  show  that  the  increase  of  the  army 
has  hardly  been  equal  to  the  decrease 
caused  by  deaths,  discharge*,  and  deser- 
tion. It  seems  also  that  the  force  has  been 
much  below  the  maximum. 

I  read  from  the  report  of  the  Adjutant 
General,  of  November  27,  1857: 


11 


"  The  authorized  strength  of  the  army,  as  now 
posted,  is  17,984.  The  actual  strength  on  the 
1st  of  July  last  was  15,764.  The  number  of  en- 
listments made  during  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1857,  was  5,509-  The  number  of  persons  offer- 
ing to  enlist,  but  who  were  refused  on  account  of 
minority  and  unfitness  for  service,  was  12,275. 
The  number  of  casualties  in  the  army,  by  deaths, 
discharges,  and  desertions,  during  the  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1857,  was  ,5,729,  of  which  2,954 
were  from  the  last-named  cause." 

This  report  not  only  shows  the  difficulty 
of  enlistments,  but  it  is  remarkable  that  so 
many  were  minors,  or  otherwise  so  degra- 
ded as  to  be  unfit  for  soldiers. 

Mr.  POTTLE.  I  ask  the  gentleman  if 
he  can  inform  the  House  where  the  great- 
est number  of  desertions  have  taken 
place  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.     I  cannot  say  as  to  that. 

Mr.  POTTLE.  I  ask  the  gentleman  if 
the  greatest  number  of  desertions  did  not 
take  place  in  Kansas,  and  were  not  owing 
to  the  peculiar  description  of  service  that 
the  troops  were  ordered  upon  in  that  Ter- 
ritory ? 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  do  not  know  whether 
that  is  so  or  not.  I  am  now  avoiding  the 
Kansas  question.  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  President  has  any  right  to  use  the  army 
of  the  United  States  either  for  a  police,  or 
for  apossc,  or  to  defend  the  ballot-boxes  of 
the  country.  The  army  of  this  country  is 
intended  for  a  different  purpose.  In  our 
Republic,  the  ba'lot-box  was  substituted 
for  the  cartridge-box  j  and  when  these 
negative  electrics  come  together  in  the 
same  crucible,  you  will  see  spontaneous 
combustion — strife  and  tumult  and  civil 
war  are  the  inevitable  consequences,  I 
deplore  the  act  of  the  President  in  keep- 
ing two  or  three  thousand  men  in  Kansas  ; 
and  will  at  any  time  go  for  prohibiting  the 
use  of  our  army  or  navy  for  all  such  pur- 
poses. But  let. us  not  mix  that  Kansas 
subject  with  the  one  now  before  us.  We 
are  told  that  the  troops  shall  be  sent  to 
Utah.  Let  us  look  the  matter  in  the  face, 
and  see  whether  it  is  our  duty  as  men  and 
legislators  to  put  under  the  control  of  the 
Executive  a  sufficient  force  to  execute  the 
law.  • 

Mr.  MARSHALL,  of  Kentucky.  The 
gentleman  says  he  has  been  told  that  these 
troops  shall  be  sent  to  Utah.  I  would 
like  to  know  from  the  gentleman  if  he  can 
state  the  date  of  that  determination  ? 

Mr.  CURTIS,  I  would  say  to  my  friend 
from  Kentucky,  that  I  understood  so  three 
weeks  ago,  in  a  private  conversation  with 


General  Scott  himself.  It  was  a  private 
conversation  on  public  business,  and 
therefore  I  suppose  it  is  no  breach  of  trust 
to  speak  about  it.  I  understood  it  to  be 
the  policy  of  tjje  Administration,  and  the 
General's  purpose,  to  send  the  Kansas 
troops  on  to  Utah,  as  soon  as  the  season 
would  permit.  I  have  heard  the  same 
purpose  declared  by  my  friend  from  Vir- 
ginia, [Mr.  FAULKNER]  whom  I  suppose  to 
be  in  communication  with  the  Administra- 
tion ;  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  doubt  the 
fact,  since  it  comes  so  distinctly  stated  by 
high  authority.  If  the  Administration  does 
not  send  all  the  force  it  can  get  to  Utah,  I 
tell  you  that  the  campaign  will  be  a  peril- 
ous one.  The'honor  of  the  country  will 
not  be  sustained,  and,  in  rny  opinion,  the 
President  himself  will  have  reason  to  de- 
plore such  a  diversion  of  these  forces. 
Put  the  farce  into  the  hands  of  the  Presi- 
dent, and  if  he  does  not  send  it  to  Utah, 
if  he  does  not  stand  by  your  eagles,  if  he 
does  not  sustain  your  laws,  hold  him  ac- 
countable forit.  Hold  up  his  conductbe- 
fore  the  people,  and  before  those  who  de- 
clare now  the  purpose  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  perform  his  ,duty  by 
sending  the  Kansas  troops  to  Utah. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  do  not  want  it  to  appear 
that  I  am  defending  the  Administration. 
I  have  no  right  or  inclination  to  speak  of 
the  Administration  from  any  personal 
knowledge.  Other  gentlemen,  I  trust, 
are  better  able  to  defend  him  than  I  am. 
So  far  as  the  past  course  of  the  Adminis- 
tration is  concerned,  I  leave  it  with  them. 

I  am  very  far  from  approving  of  the  re- 
tention of  troops  last  year  in  Kansas  ;  but 
I  speak  of  ihe  fuiure.  I  speak  of  what 
the  Administration  ought  to  do,  and  what 
we  are  led  to  believe  they  intend  to  do; 
and  I  trust  that,  on  this  subject,  the  Presi- 
dent will  act  with  patriotism,  fairness,  and 
fidelity.  I  repeat,  this  is  not  a  party  ques- 
tion, and  I  hope  gentlemen  will  not  try 
to  make  it  such,  I  ask  the  Republicans 
of  this  House  especially  to  recollect  that 
these  Mormons  have,  for  years  pr;st,  been 
doing  violence  to  good  moral*.  They  have 
raised  the  standard  of  liberty  to  sustain 
rebellion,  and  the  standard  of  religion  to 
support  licentiousness.  They  despise  our 
laws,  and  now  declare  they  will  never 
subm  t  to  them.  Brigharn  Young  held 
pnwer  for  years  under  the  law  organizing 
that  Territory,  and  under  that  law  he 
should  have  submitted  to  his  successor. 


12 


when  he  finds,  after  receiving  his  sala- 
ry as  Governor  for  years,  that  he  is  to  be 
removed  and  superseded,  he  declares  the 
law  null  and  void,  and  asserts  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  has  no 
power  to  send  officers^  there  whom  the 
Mormons  themselves  have  not  appointed. 
In  other  words,  they  say  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  has  no  power 
to  remove  Brigham  Young,  who  claims  to 
hold  his  office  as  Governor  by  the  grace 
of  God,  and  not  by  the  laws  of  Congress. 

Now,  the  question  of  the  kind  of  force 
to  be  sent  there  has  been  brought  up  ; 
and  I  regret  that  I  am  diverted  so  often 
from  my  purpose  to  discuss  that  matter. 
Admitting  that  this  additional  force  of  four 
or  five  regiments  is  necessary  for  the  pur- 
pose of  quelling  the  difficulty  in  Utah,  I 
say  that  the  best  force  to  be  sent  there  is 
a  volunteer  force,  first,  because  they  can  be 
soonest  brought  into  service.  How  was 
it  in  the  Mexican  campaign  ?  On  the  13th 
day  of  May,  Congress  passed  a  law  calling 
for  volunteeis  from  the  different  States  of 
the  Union.  On  the  20th  of  May,  in  the 
same  year,  the  proclamation  was  made  in 
the  State  of  Ohio;  and  in  just  one  month 
from  that  day  there  were  three  regiments 
organized  and  turned  over  to  the  United 
States,  ready  for  service  in  Mexico,  and 
enough  to  form  ten  or  twenty  more  regi- 
ments had  been  declined  and  discharged. 
On  the  18th  of  July  these  Ohio  volunteers 
were  in  Mexico,  where  they  found  others 
from  Indiana,  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Ken- 
tucky, and  other  parts  of  the  Union,  who 
had  already  arrived  at  Brazos  Santiago, 
ready  and  able  to  do  good  service  in  an 
enemy's  country.  Certainly,  you  cannot 
organize  regulars  so  expeditiously. 

Within  sixty  da\s  from  this  time,  there 
could  be  raised  in  this  country  three  mil- 
lions of  volunteers,  if  the  exigencies  of 
the  country  required  such  a  force — the 
best  elements  in  the  world  to  mould  into 
an  army.  Such  an  army  would  be  invin- 
cible against  any  force  that  could  be 
brought  against  the  country.  The  mili- 
tary power  of  the  country  consists  in  this 
vast  numerical  force,  which  is  ready,  on  a 
proper  occasion,  to  rush  to  your  standard 
as  volunteers.  And  now  that  you  have 
occasion  to  have  a  force  in  the  field,  I  ask 
you  to  look  to  those  whom  you  can  and 
mast  rely  upon  to  protect  your  honor  and 
fight  jour  battles  on  all  occasions  of  great 
necessity.  Encourage  by  your  accept- 


ance a  force  that  you  see  armed,  equip- 
ped, and  well  drilled,  in  almost  every  city, 
town,  and  hamlet,  of  your  country ;  a  force 
that  volunteers  and  expects  to  share  in  the 
occasions  of  actual  service;  a  force  which 
in  all  your  wars  has  been  your  main  de- 
pendence, and  one  that  has  written  its 
own  glorious  character  in  all  your  sieges, 
garrisons,  marches,  and  battles. 

Mr.  BURROUGHS.  I  ask  permission 
of  the  gentleman  to  read  some  paragraphs 
from  the  speech  of  Hon.  JE  FEHSON  DA- 
VIS, chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Mili- 
tary Affairs  in  the  Senate. 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  know  that  Senator 
DAVIS  puts  the  necessity  for  force  upon 
the  ground  that  it  is  necessary  to  increase 
the  standing  army.  I  do  not  take  that 
ground.  I  am  not  concluded  by  the  hon- 
orable Senator.  1  do  not  believe  that  to 
be  the  true  ground.  The  force  is  asked 
for  a  Utah  expedition.  I  take  the  ground 
that  it  is  necessary  to  strengthen  the  army 
in  Utah.  If  I  believed  what  Senator  DA- 
VIS says,  that  it  is  to  increase  the  standing 
army,  I  would  myself  vole  against  this  bill. 
But  he  has  no  right  to  speak  for  the  Ad- 
ministration;  he  has  no  right  to  speak  for 
me;  and  he  has  no  right  to  speak  for  the 
Committee  on  Military  Affairs  of  this 
House. 

But  gentlemen  have  said  here,  and  it 
has  been  said  by  the  Adjutant  General  of 
the  army  of  the  United  States,  and  it  has 
been  said  in  the  speech  of  Senator  DAVIS, 
which  the  gentleman  presented,  and  pro- 
poses to  read  from,  that  a  volunteer  force 
is  the  most  expensive. 

The  SPEAKER.  It  is  hardly  in  order 
for  the  gentleman  to  allude  to  u  hat  is  said 
in  the  other  wing  of  the  Capitol. 

Mr.  CURTIS.  I  am  replying  to  an  in- 
quiry made  by  my  friend  from  New  York, 
[Mr.  BURROUGHS.]  I  speak  of  a  pamph- 
let which  he  presents  before  me,  and  with 
due  respect  to  the  Senate. 

But  I  desire  also  to  notice  the  report  of 
the  Adjutant  General  of  the  Army,  which 
I  have  before  me,  especially  so  much  of  it 
as  supports  his ^ argument,  showing  that 
volunteers  cost  vastly  more  thon  regulars. 
I  have  also  before  me  the  expression  of 
Mr.  Poinsett,  when  Secretary  of  War; 
and  also  the  opinion  of  the  present  Secre- 
tary of  War,  together  with  the  argument 
of  the  honorable  gentleman  from  Virginia, 
[Mr.  FAULKNER;]  all  attempting  to  show 
that  volunteers  are  more  expensive  than 


13 


Jregulars.     Upon  this   array   of  testimony  I  ine  it,  I  submit  a  portion  of  the  Adjutant 
jagainst  the  cost  of  volunteers,  it  is  argued    General's  report : 
|ih ere  and  elsewhere  that  regulars  should 


be  called  out  to  meet  the  present  and  every 
jother  emergency.  This  argument  has 
[been  presented  and  reiterated  over  and 
over  ag;iin,  although,  as  I  will  show,  to  a 
mathematical  certainty,  it  is  entirely  falla- 
cious. The  regular  army  of  the  United 
States  has^  been  represented  here,  by  its 
officers  and  defenders  ;  but  who  has  rep- 
resented the  volunteers?  Who  has  taken 
the  troi^bltt  to  look  over  musty  documents, 
to  ascertain  how  figures  have  been  made 
to  show  what,  at  first  sight,  appears  ab- 
surd ?  We  have  presented  to  us  long  bills 
of  expenses  of  the  volunteers,  which  have 
been  placed  upon  public  record  ;  and 
many  have  supposed  these  figures  are  in- 
controvertible/" Sir,  it  is  a  fearful  charge 
against  the  volunteers,  that  they  are  so 
much  more  wasteful  and  improvident 
than  the  regulars  as  to  involve  four  or  six 
times  the  expense. 

Now,  sir,  the  figures  in  the  report  of  the 
Adjutant  General,  which  I  have  before  me, 
refer  to  tables  erroneously  prepared  some 
twenty  years  ago,  and  still  more  errone- 
ously applied  to  volunteers  in  Mexico 
and  volunteers  proposed  in  this  bill.  So  far 
as  this  bill  is  concerned,  the  report  of  the 
Adjutant  General  has  not  the  least  force, 
because  we  provide  that  the  infantry  vol- 
unteers shall  have  the  same  allowances,  in 
all  respects,  as  regulars  ;  andtjie  mounted 
forces  are  also  to  have  the  same  allowance, 
except,  as  the  horses  are  to  be  furnished 
by  the  volunteers,  forty  cents  a  day  is 
given  for  the  use  and  risk  of  this  item. 

The  argument  of  the  gentleman  from 
Mississippi  [Mr.  QUITMAN]  would  also 
seem  to  extinguish  the  averment  of  the 
Adjutant  General,  by  raising  the  simple 
inquiry,  how  it  was  possible  there  should 
be  such  a  difference  in  the  Mexican  war, 
when  the  pay  of  volunteers  and  regulars 
was  the  same,  and  all  other  supplies  and 
transportations  were  controlled  by  officers 
of  the  regular  army.  The  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral states  the  number  of  companies  em- 
ployed in  the  Mexican  war  as  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  seventy-seven  ;  and 
then  he  refers  to  a  table,  made  out  twenty 
years  ago,  to  show  that  the  cost  of  such 
a  company  of  volunteers  for  six  months  is 
$2,625.  It  is  the  use  of  this  last  item  that 
has  been  the  foundation  of  all  the  charges 
of  greater  cost ;  but,  as  I  design  to  exam-, 


"Adding  up  these  three  numbers,  we  shall 
have  eighty-three  thousand;  and  dividing  this 
by  sixty-five,  or  the  aggregate  of  a  company  of 
fifty  privates,  we  will  get  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven  companies  ;  which,  mul- 
tiplied by  $2,625,  or  the  difference  between  the 
cost  of  a  regular  infantry  company  and  one  of  foot 
volunteers,  for  six  months,  according  to  the  com- 
putation of  the  Paymaster  General,  in  1838,  (see 
House  Document  271,  second  session,  Twenty- 
fifth  Congress,  table  A,)  we  shallhave  $3,352,125 
for  the  minimum  amount  expended  upon  these 
volunteers,  over  what  the  same  number  of  regu- 
lar troops  would  have  cost  during  the  same 
time.  Going  through  the  same  calculations  with 
the  mounted  volunteers  enumerated  above,  obser- 
ving only  that  the  difference  of  cost  between 
the  mounted  companies  of  volunteers  and  regular 
troops  for  six  months  is  greater,  amounting  to 
$9,002,  we  shall  get,  in  the  same  way,  $3, 744,832; 
which,  added  to  the  previous  amount,  leaves 
$7,096,957  as  the  clear  amount  which  must 
have  been  saved  during  the  Mexican  war  by  the 
use  of  regular  troops  instead  of  volunteers ; 
and,  by  making  a  fair  allowance  for  the  unneces- 
sarily large  mounted  force  of  volunteers  called 
out,  this  amount  will  even  go  up  to  $9,021,733. 
And  should  we  further  consider  the  comparative 
loss  and  destruction  of  military  stores  and  public 
property  by  the  two  forces  referred  to  in  the  re- 
port of  the  Paymaster  General,  we  may  safely 
assume  that  not;  much  short  of  twenty  millions 
might  have  been  saved  in  the  course  of  the 
Mexican  war,  by  the  employment  of  regular 
troops  in  lieu  of  volunteers  ;  and  this  is,  undoubt- 
edly, an  under-estimate." 

In  the  reports  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Con- 
gress, volume  e.'ghth,  report  of  the  Pay- 
master General,  pages  9  and  10,  I  find 
the  tables  from  which  this  magic  number, 
$2,625,  is  obtained.  It  is  there,  in  the 
report  of  General  Towson,  it  is  attempted 
to  show  that  a  six-months  company  of 
volunteers  costs  the  Government  $2,625 
more  than  a  six-months  company  of  reg- 


ulars.    It   was    all 
volunteers     then, 


wrong,  as    applied  to 
because    the    charges 


against  the  volunteers  include  a  charge  for 
transportation ;  while  no  charge  is  made 
for  transporting  regulars,  as  though  reg- 
ulars were  there  without  any  transporta- 
tion !  But  the  matter  I  particularly  object 
to,  is  the  use  of  this  item  against  the  Mex- 
ican volunteers,  and  predicating  on  it  a 
charge  of  improvidence  and  extravagance  ; 
alleging  their  cost  at  four  times  as  much 
as  that  of  the  regulars.  How  does  that 
table  apply? 

The  table  on  page  10,  to  which  I  allude, 
foots  up  the  cost  of  a  volunteer  com- 
pany, for  six  months,  at  -  $7,287.69 


14 


The  table   on  page  9,  relating 
to  regulars,  foots  up  at 


1.662.02 


Taking  the  difference,  you  have 

this  fatal  number  -       $2,625 

Let  us  first  examine  the  table  which 
relates  to  volunteers,  and  see  how  it  ap- 
plies to  Mexican  volunteers.  I  find  three 
classes  of  charges  which  should  be  erased, 
if  you  use  the  table  for  the  Ohio  and  other 
ordinary  Mexican  volunteers.  They  are: 
1st.  Charges  for  transportation.  It  is 
obvious  that  transportation  of  volunteers 
costs  no  more,  or  not  so  much,  in  the  Mex- 
ican war,  since  the  volunteers  were  gene- 
rally gathered  nearer  the  scene  of  service, 
than  the  regulars.  2d.  An  ensign  is  charged 
in  the  table :  and  since  the  law  organizing 
the  Mexican  volunteers,  (see  vol.  9,  page 
10,  Statutes  at  Large,)  prescribing  the 
officers,  does  not  include  an  ensign — and, 
as  my  recollection  serves  me,  none  were 
used — that  item  should  bfe  excluded.  3d. 
Clothing.  The  same  statute  (page  18) 
prescribes  the  amount  volunteers  were  to 
receive-  $3.50  per  month  for  clothing, 
which  would  be  twenty-one  dollars  for  six 
months.  Whereas  the  table  used  by  the 
Adjutant  General  charges  more  and  various 
prices,  as  shown  below.  In  conformity 
to  these  erroneous  items,  the  table  should 
be  corrected  as  follows: 

Deduct  for  Transportation. 

Captain $106.20 

First  lieutentant.. 82.20 

Second  lieutenant 76.20 

First  sergeant '. 22.39 

3  sergeants 56.46 

4  corporals 56.16 

2  musicians 23.32 

1  private 11.66 

49  privates 571.34 


1,005.93 

Ensign 459.20 

Clothing  Errors. 

First  sergeant.. ..Charged $36.91 

"  "  Received 21.00 

$1591 

3  sergeants $36  91  —  21  x  3= 47.73 

4  corporals 36.23—21x4= 56.92 

2  musicians...  3675  —  21x2= 31.50 

50  privates 35.L>3  —  21  x=$14.23  x  50=711.50 

883.56 


2,328  69 

This  shows  that  $2,328.69  should  be 
deducted  from  the  cost  of  volunteers; 
which,  being  so  deducted,  leaves  only 
$4,959,  instead  of  $7,287.69,  as  the  cost 
of  a  company  of  fifty  volunteers  for  six 
months.  This  would  alrrrost  annihilate 
the  fatal  number,  ($2,625  ;)  but  I  proceed 


further.  The  table  on  page  8  of  the  old 
report,  to  which  I  have  referred,  and 
which  purports  to  give  the  cost  of  reg- 
ulars, is  also  erroneous  when -applied  to 
volunteers  of  1846.  The  error  is  an  un- 
der-charge  for  clothing  regulars.  To  de- 
termine the  clothing  al  owed  a  regular 
soldier,  I  have  referred  to  the  Army  Reg- 
ulations, pages  209,  210;  arid  to  estimate 
the  cost  thereof,  I  have  had  reference  to 
the  estimates  furnished  this  Thirty-fifth 
Congress.  (See  Ex.  Doc.  No.  ],  pa<*e 
187.) 

I  have  taken  the  allowance  for  two 
years,  and  thus  tried  to  determine  a  fair 
average  for  six  months : 

First  Year. 

1  cap,  complete $1.45 

1  forage  cap 50 

1  dress  coat * 6.93 

1  pair  epaulets 

1  pair  shoulder-straps - 

1  pair  aiguillettes - 

1  wool  jacket 2.00 

2  pairs  woollen  overalls,  $2.64  each 5.28 

1  cotton  jacket 1.00 

3  pairs  cotton  overalls,  $1.25  each 3.75 

2  cotton  shirts,  93  cts.  each 1.86 

2  flannel  shirts,  93  cts.  each 1.86 

2  pairs  drawers,  47  cts.  each 94 

4  pairs  boots,  $1.93  each 7.72 

4  pairs  stockings,  28  cts.  each 1.12 

I  leather  stock , 13 

1  great  coat 6.97 

1  forage  frock,  (not  known) - 

1  blanket 3.10 


44.61 
Fourth  Tear. 

1  woollen  jacket $2.00 

2  pairs  woollen  overalls 5.28 

1  cotton  jacket 1.00 

3  pairs  cotton  overalls 3.75 

2  cotton  shirts 1.86 

2  flannel  shirts 1.86 

1  pair  drawers 47 

4  pairs  boots 7.72 

4  pairs  stockings 1.12 


Fourth  year 25.06 

First  year,  brought  forward 44.61 

Total  for  two  years 69.67 


For  six  months,  one-fourth  of  the  above...   17.41 
Add  commission,  insurance,  and  transport- 
ation   6.59 


Average  cost  of  clothing  for  regulars 24.00 

The  regular  force  in  Mexico  was  al- 
lowed a  major  and  one  assistant  surgeon 
more  than  volunteers  were  allowed.  To 
make  the  table  right,  therefore,  so  as  to 
show  the  comparative  cost  of  a  regular 


15 


company,  which  is  to  apply  as  a  measure 
of  relative  cost  for  the  two  kinds  offeree, 

is  necessary  to  charge  one-tenth  of  the 
cost  of  these  officers  to  a  company,  as  its 
share  of  that  extra  expense.  Estimating 
the  perquisites,  pay,  &c.,  I  estimate  the 
cost  of  a  major  of  the  United  States  at 
$1,000  for  six  months,  and  an  assistant 
surgeon  at  $700. 

Having  thus  determined  the  average 
cost  of  clothing  at  $24,  and  the  amounts 
chargeable  for  a  major  and  assistant  sur- 
geon, I  present  the  following  table  of 
items,  which  should  be  added  to  the  cost 
of  regulars  : 

Clothing. 
3  servants $24  each=$T2 

TableB 15  each=  45 


1  sergeant $24— $17.16= 

59  sergeants,  corporals,  musicians,   a  d 

privates,  each  charged  $8  too  low..-- 

Add  one-tenth  cost  of  additional  major 

to  regulars — see  act  1846 

Add  one-tenth  cost  of  additional  assist- 
ant surgeons  allowed  regulars 


$27.00 
6.84 

472.00 

100.00 

70.00 


Total  increase 675.84 

From  table  B 4,662.02 

5,337.86 
Taking,  then,  these  corrected  items,  we 

have — 

For  the  cost  of  a  company  of  regulars 

for  six  months $5,337.86 

For  the  cost  of  company  of  volunteers    4,959.00 

Difference  in  favor  of  volunteers 378.86 

I  have  thus  not  only  over-balanced  the 
multiple  $2,625,  which  was  used  to  the 
coat  of  volunteers,  but  I  have  in  its  stead 
a  multiple  $378  86,  which  I  consider  fair- 
ly chargeable  to  the  regulars.  Thus  show- 
ing that  regulars,  not  volunteers,  in  the 
Mexican  war,  cost  the  most. 

In  this  estimate  I  have  compared  infant- 
ry with  infantry,  because  this  is  the  only 
fair  way  of  making  comparisons. 

The  statement  of  the  gentleman  from 
Virginia,  [Mr.  FAULKNER,]  that  volun- 
teers could  only  be  procured  mounted,  is 
entirely  erroneous.  The  only  trouble  on 
the  occasion  of  the  first  Mexican  cal" 
was,  that  infantry  volunteers  overwhelmec 
the  rendezvous  with  from  four  to  ten 
times  the  lequisite  numbers;  and  I  g;ive 
it  as  my  opinion  that  Iowa  can  in  thirty 
days  furnish  half  the  force  proposed  ir 
this  bill,  either  as  infantry  or  mounted,  as 
the  President  may  elect. 

What  I  have  shown  with  regard  to  the 


comparative   cost   of  volunteer   infantry, 

could  be  shown  as  to  volunteer  cavalry. 

The  tables  from  which  the  Adjutant  Gen- 

ral  made  his  calculations  were  erroneous 

it  first,  because  they  compared  regulars 

without    transportation,    with   volunteers 

ncluding   transportation ;    and    they   are 

wholly    irrelevant    to    the    Mexican    and 

roposed  volunteers,  because  these  latter, 

law,  have  substantially  the  same  or  less 
allowances  than  the  regulars. 

But  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  [Mr. 
FAULKNER]  seems  to  think  volunteers  are 
too  uncontrollable,  too  impetuous;  and 
that  the  country  should  rely  on  the  old 
maxim  of  military  science,  as  he  pre- 
sents it: 

'  A  regular  soldier  is  an  unimpassioned  instru- 
ment of  war.  He  is  a  machine  in  the  hands  of 
higher  intelligence.  He  is  the  child  of  obedience. 
Obedience  is  the  law  of  his  existence.  He  is  ready 
to  march  or  countermarch,  to  go  into  canton- 
ments or  go  into  the  cannon's  mouth,  as  his  su- 
perior officer  may  order  him  to  do.  You  want  a 
soldiery  which  will  be  under  the  perfect  control 
of  its  officers." 

Mr.  Speaker,  this  is  the  formula  of  a 
soldier  that  has  been  transmitted  to  us 
from  a  despotic  and  barbarous  age.  I 
once  heartily  imbibed  and  entertained  it ; 
but  I  have  long  since  perceived  that  it  is 
not  applicable  to  a  republican  civiliza- 
tion, to  which  we  have  advanced.  In  all 
our  wars,  men  of  intelligence  rush  to 
arms  ;  and  it  is  often  the  case  that  the 
officer  commands  higher  intellects  than 
his  own. 

At  our  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  cadets  are  appointed  to  offices; 
they  are  regularly  promoted,  and,  at  drills 
and  elsewhere,^  command  their  fellow- 
cadets,  who  they  hourly  meet  in  section 
rooms  as  friends  and  peers.  Obedience 
to  orders,  and  precision  of  military  duty 
and  drill,  is  nowhere  more  perfect  than 
where  the  cadets  are  under  their  own 
officers.  I  see  those  around  me  who  will 
attest,  as  I  can,  to  this,  from  personal  ex- 
perience Volunteers  can  and  should  be 
commanded  on  the  same  principle.  "  The 
more  intelligent,  the  better  the  soldier," 
is  a  wiser,  better,  and  more  republican 
maxim  than  your  dictum  of  an  "  unimpas- 
sioned instrument  in  the  hands  of  a  high- 
er intelligence."  Educated,  intelligent 
men,  readily  comprehend  the  necessity  of 
strict  discipline,  prompt  obedience,  and 
secret  councils.  If  their  officers  act  con- 
sistently with  the  rational  rules  of  the  ser- 
vice, they  will  find  their  men  "  the  chil- 


16 


dren  of  obedience,"  ready  to  "  march  o 
countermarch,"  as  the  commander  di 
rects.  Look  at  the  volunteers  in  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  and  in  this 
city.  Do  they  not  march  with  martia 
tread,  and  some  mechanical  precision?  In 
Iowa,  vye  have  companies  that  would  do 
credit  to  any  army.  But  look  back  at  the 
courage,  endurance,  dangers,  and  extra- 
ordinary perfeciion  in  the  execution  o 
military  evolutions,  manifested  by  volun- 
teers in  Mexico.  I  have,  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent, commanded  cadets,  regulars,  and 
volunteers  ;  and  I  do  no  injustice  to  the 
former  when  I  say  that  I  have  never  seen 
battalion  drills  which  excelled  those  exe- 
cuted by  the  third  regiment  of  Ohio  vol- 
unteers, in  the  presence  of  Gen.  Wool 
and  other  army  officers,  on  the  plains 
near  Saltillo.  And  this  was  only  one  of 
many  regimets  that  claimed  pre-eminence 
in  (he  performance  of  military  evolutions 
towards  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war. 

If  you  would  avoid  a  large  standing 
army,  encourage  such  volunteers.  Dif- 
fuse the  knowledge  acquired  at  West 
Point  more  widely 'among  the  reading 
militia  of  our  country,  the  great  American 
army  of  millions.  Complete  an  organiza- 
tion that  is  suited  to  war  as  well  as  peace, 
regulars  and  volunteers,  and  make  it  capa- 
ble of  immediate  expansion  or  contrac- 
tion, to  suit  emergencies  that  will  inevi- 
tably arise.  Aitach  the  graduates  of  the 
Academy  to  ihe  volunteers  as  well  as 
the  regulars,  and  let  hand-books  be  pre- 
pared, convenient  for  every  arm  and 
every  elementary  division  of  each  arm  of 
the  service.  Circulate  these  hand-books 
throughout  the  ranks  of  your  great  nation- 
al reserve,  to  enable  all  classes  to  assist  in 
acquiring  military  knowledge.  Mark  well 
the  recommendation  of  Lieutenant  Gen- 
eral Scott,  who,  in  his  recent  report, 
seems  to  foreshadow  these  impressions, 
by  saying: 

"  But  to  render  the  service  honorable,  so  that 
citizen.?  may  freeiy  enlist  without  the  fear  of 
harsh,  arbitrary,  or  capricious  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  any  superior,  some  additional  legisla- 
tion seems  indispensable.  I  allude  to  a  revision 
of  the  'rules  and  articles  for  the  government  of 
the  armies  of  the  United  States,'  and  particular- 
ly tl)3  45th,  G5th,  66th,  67th,  and  99th  of  those 
articles,  all  respecting  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice, in  order,  among  other  things,  to  provide  for 
the  legal  punishment  of  petty  offences,  (substitu- 


ting, when  necessary,  courts  consisting  entirely 
of  sergeants,)  so  as  to  deprive  commanders  ef 
small  detachments  and  isolated  companies  of  all 
pretext  (the  want  of  officers  to  compose  courts, 
&c.)  for  taking  the  law  into  their  own  hands. 
Accordingly,  I  recommend  that  the  subject  be,  in 
the  first  instance,  referred  to  a  board  consisting 
of  intelligent  officers  of  great  experience  with 
troops,  and,  if  their  report  be  approved,  that  it 
next  be  submitted  to  Congress.  (The  same 
board  might,  with  great  benefit,  revise  the  Gen- 
eral Regulations  for  the  Army,  and  the  conflict- 
ing systems  of  infantry  tactics  now  in  force.") 

All  this  and  more  is  necessary  to  com- 
plete our  military  system,  and  adapt  it  to 
this  great  Republic  and  the  developments 
of  the  age.  The  bill  before  you  is  a  step  in 
the  right  way.  It  will  evince  your  reliance 
on  what  I  consider  the  available,  econom- 
ical, and  most  efficient,  element  to  mould 
into  an  army.  Thousands  are  offering  to 
volunteer,  who  are  proposing  to  enlist? 

Mr.  Speaker,  the  Mormon  rebellion  has 
assumed  the  attitude  of  civil  war.  The 
great  central  international  line  of  travel, 

ich  connects  us  with  the  Pacific  settle- 
ments, is  entirely  intercepted.  Thus  far, 
property  only  has  been  destroyed  ;  but  on 
our  broad  and  beautiful  prairies  of  the 
West,  the  opening  flowers  of  spring  will 

crimsoned  with  fratricidal  blood.  No 
man  in  this  House  deplores  it  more  than 
[  do;  but.  I  have  not  overwrought  the 
picture  of  opposing  passions  and  the  in- 
evitable results  of  opposing  military  force. 
[t  is  not  the  province  of  our  committee 
o  propose  the  commissions  of  warning, 
of  entreaty,  and  peace,  that  should  be 
offered ;  these  should  all  be  exhausted 
Before  we  appeal,  as  the  Mormons  have, 
:o  the  last  resort.  But  with  your  com- 
nissions  of  peace,  adopt  ample  means  to 
support  your  power;  and  if  argument, 
entreaty,  and  commissions,  fail,  and  the 
Mormons  continue  defiant,  belligerent, 
and  unscrupulous,  then  "  ciy  havoc,  and 
et  slip  the  dogs  of  war."  Instead  of  a 
weak  column,  that  only  provokes  resist- 
ance, and  invites  military  assault,  send  a 
)owerful,  overwhelming  force,  and  carry 
>n  a  vigorous  campaign,  if  you  will  avoid 
a  protracted,  sanguinary  struggle,  that 
vill  deplete  our  Treasury,  corrupt  the 
>ublic  morals,  and  disgrace  the  annals  of 
ur  glorious  Republic.  I  ask,  therefore, 
or  calm  and  early  action  on  the  bill 
which  we  have  presented  for  the  consid- 
ration  of  the  House. 


Lithomount 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gay  lord  Bros. 

Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAT.  JAN  21,  1908 


